the dapper ranch in fallbrook

i seriously suck at blogging, journaling, and pretty much anything that has to do with regular writing. but, i am working on it. i am really proud of myself--this year i have written in my journal more times than ever before. so, now that i have a camera (that takes amazing pictures) and i have a reason to record my life (a study abroad program in london), i have decided to commit myself to blogging. so here it goes.

this past weekend, we went down to visit my sweet pa (like we do every saturday) in fallbrook. my aunt, uncle, cousin, and his family were there and i had a great time taking pictures of his cute kids, elliot and emmitt. elliot is five and emmitt is two. those two boys have so much energy, you would not even believe. and they love getting dirty. the dapper ranch is totally the perfect place for them.

emmitt loves pa's old tractor. this is him and rachel. see his sneaky little hand around the key? he was trying to start the tractor and had plans to drive it just like his daddy.


here is silly elliot. he was liza's little pal. he liked me too. he loved playing restuarant with me. liza was the waiter, rachel was the chef, and elliot and i were the customers. then he and liza played tag with the tub of forty-year-old jelly beans for twenty minutes. seriously, those kids could not be worn out.


finally, here i am in grams and pa's gorgeous house. this weekend, i realized that their house is so beautiful. i think i kind of knew that before, but i guess i was really looking this time. grams had a kind of eclectic collection of really cool things. like in this picture, on those sixty-year-old monster speakers, there is a real live cuckoo clock. there is a key to it, and if you wind it up, a little birdie pops out of it and makes the real cuckoo clock sound. and all of the lamps in that great room upstairs are tiffany style lamps. i love those. and the windows. there are not really any walls up there. it is all windows that look out through giant trees over fields of strawberries and avocados.

there is a unique comfort in the homes of grandparents, and even if you are positive that there is a family of mice sleeping in the room that you always sleep in, you feel safe. it is not exactly like home, but rather a place of everlasting childhood. that is what i feel when i visit there every week. even though my grams has passed on, i am gently reminded of her nurturing spirit every time i walk onto the ranch. she was such a special woman and i will always remember her for her unconditional love.